Berry Hill Park in Mansfield played host to the 2021 edition of the National XC relays.
Run over a very challenging course that encompasses various undulating sections, as well as a twisting wooded passage, Reading AC’s Senior Men’s team would have to navigate two laps of this gruelling terrain, totalling 5km per leg.
Fielding two teams of four athletes, the boys in red, white and blue were well represented in the Nottinghamshire countryside.
Present on the start line for the first leg were Sam Rodda for the A-team, and David Lewis for the B-team; with 172 teams competing, the competition was fierce.
Rodda had a fine run posting a time of 16:53 for 60th place, while Lewis came through in 18:29 in 102nd position.
Taking over the baton were Martin Turton for the A-team and Tom Nike for the B-team.
Turton had a solid run to stave off the stiff competition and maintain 60th position with a decent time of 17:54.
Meanwhile, Nike managed to surge through the field, in the process gaining 11 places to take his team up to 91st position with a clocking of 18:23.
Continuing the proceedings into the third leg, Mark Booth had a strong outing to gain five places, and bring his team up to 55th position, with Reading’s second fastest time of the day in 17:18.
Meanwhile, the B-team posted a time of 17:52, boosting their position up to 77th.
Taking over for the final leg was the ever reliable Ed Stockdale for the A-team, with Stockdale traversing the Mansfield mud in a time of 19:03, and bringing the Reading men across the line in 57th place out of a total of 144 complete teams.
The B-team had a solid final leg run of 18:54, gaining a further 6 places to finish in 71st position.
All-in-all, it was a great day of running, and the Palmer-Park faithful will reconvene on Saturday, November 13 at King’s Park in Bournemouth for the first Hampshire League fixture of the season.
